Deathscapes

Wasted Death Review

Wasted Death Review

While the Grand Jury found no problems with the care that Moises received in detention, an ICE investigation revealed that Hall County Corrections was not in compliance with a number ICE health care standards.

Since 2009, ICE has produced what have come to be known as the Detainee Death Reviews. A death review is a document that summarizes the findings of investigations into the death of an individual in detention. The investigations are carried out by ICE personnel and subject-matter experts, who interview personnel at the facility where a death has occurred, as well as review custody and medical records.

Moises death review documents numerous deficiencies in the provision of care and security at HCDC. Included among these deficiencies is not having ‘a medical staff large enough to perform basic exams and treatments for all detainees’. The report points out that no physician provides onsite services at HCDC and that the RN only visits 1-3 hours per week.

The report also notes that there was a general failure to provide Moises with interpretation services. When language difficulties make communicating with a detainee difficult, personnel are expected to obtain translation assistance. Moises spoke little to no English and limited Spanish. His primary language was K’iche’, a Mayan language. Interpretation assistance was only documented for three medical interactions with Moises. On at least one occasion, language barriers prevented a nurse from asking Moises follow-up questions about his health. And it’s not clear if translation services were provided when Moises refused to take his anti-seizure medication. The report concludes that ‘Without documentation of whether or not language assistance was provided and the reason for the refusal, it remains unclear if TINO understood the potential consequences of non-compliance’.

Other deficiencies include not having a written protocol for how to deal with seizures, not documenting the justification ‘for charging TINO with disciplinary violations and placing him in administrative segregation’, and failing to address Moises’ refusal of anti-seizure medication.

While Moises’ detainee death review documents a number of deficiencies, it also states that ‘Their inclusion in the report should not be construed in any way as indicating the deficiency contributed to the death of the detainee.’ It is thus not likely that the review was used or will be used to hold anyone accountable for Moises’ death.

[BREAK]

Moises Tino Lopez’s Detainee Death Review.

Journalist Robin Urevich’s excellent account of Moises’ death and his detainee death review.